Niche Environment and Heritage (Niche) in June 2020 executed a formal Agreement to support the Australian Department of Defence as a member of the DIP.EHEE Panel (Defence Infrastructure Panel – Environment, Heritage and Estate Engineering) for an initial five year term. As one of Australia’s largest land managers, Defence is responsible for the management of a large, complex, and diverse estate that has…
In November last year, the NSW Government released the Spot Price Index1 for biodiversity credits created using the BioBanking Assessment Methodology under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). Whilst this act has now been replaced by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and the assessment of biodiversity offsets is now determined…
The NSW EPBC Act1 Bilateral Agreement was amended on March 24, 2020 (Amending Agreement No. 1) as a result of both the NSW and Australian Governments’ commitment to: Streamlining environmental assessments and offsets for projects in NSW and Reducing the regulatory burden on proponents of projects in NSW. The amendment has been anticipated for some…
The recent fires across NSW have created challenges for assessors quantifying the impacts of developments on burnt bushland and valuing potential Biodiversity Stewardship Sites. Ecologist and Accredited BAM Assessor Dr Cairo Forrest summarises key points from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE)’s recently released guidelines for applying the Biodiversity Assessment Methodology (BAM) at…
At Niche, we are experienced in creating information sessions that are individually tailored to the unique natural environment, heritage and history of the areas in which our clients operate. Programs for NSW councils Information sessions can be tailored to suit council staff and contractors who need to have an awareness of your local biodiversity and…
Yogesh is an ecologist specialising in bush regeneration, revegetation and ecological rehabilitation. He has more than ten years’ experience in monitoring, management and planning for bushland restoration projects in the Sydney metropolitan area and across NSW. Yogesh joined Niche’s multidisciplinary consulting team in August 2019. He is based at our Sydney head office, with frequent…
Our North Coast NSW team provided both heritage management and ecological services during approval and compliance stages of this project. This included an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment; flora and fauna assessment; vegetation management plan; fauna management plan; nest box installation and monitoring; clearing surveys – and a Koala Habitat Management Plan (KHMP). The KHMP led…
Niche’s multidisciplinary team has the experience and expertise to deliver high quality, specialist services to support road infrastructure projects across NSW. Our flagship projects in this sector include: OH2K and F2E: Lead environmental consultant M1 Pacific Highway Motorway Productivity Package: Ecology, Aboriginal and historical heritage Hunter Expressway Environmental Advice: Project ecologist throughout project planning, design…
Niche was engaged by Sydney Trains to prepare a five-year weed management plan to deal with exotic flora across the entire network. Botanist Dr Cairo Forrest developed an innovative method for recording weeds across the rail network using handheld GPS devices, while riding trains at pace. Read our case study to find out more… Excellence…
South32 has developed a holistic land management program titled ‘Intelligent Land Management’ or ILM in order to transform South32 landholdings, which are otherwise unused, into areas that increase climate resilience and generate shared financial, social and environmental value. Niche has recently completed the ILM Assessment for South32’s Illawarra Metallurgical Coal (IMC) operations, building on our…
On 29 October 2019, the Australian government commenced a ten-yearly review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) – the centrepiece of our national environmental legislation. Federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley, when announcing the review emphasised the government’s goal was to deliver greater certainty to business groups, farmers and environment organisations.…
Niche Environment and Heritage has joined four local council supplier panels in Far North Queensland, having successfully satisfied all selection criteria to provide specialist environmental and heritage consulting services. The councils are Cairns Regional Council, Cassowary Coast Regional Council, Douglas Shire Council and Winton Shire Council. “Our inclusion in all four prequalification panels is only…